History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean : performed during the years 1804-5-6 by order of the government of the United States; Volume 2

Page 86

Lewts and Clm·kc•:; EXJifllitwn knowledge of those danget•ous luxuries; at least they hale never inquired after them; which they prouably would ha.vo dono if once they had uccu iut1·oduced among them. Indeed we have not observed any liquot• of an intoxicating quality used among these or any Indians west of the Rocky moun­tains, the universal beverage being pure water. Tl~t·y how­ever sometimes almost intoxicate themselves IJy smoking to­bacco ofwlticb they arc cxcessivrly fond, and the pleasures ot' which they prolong as much as possible, by l'ctaiuing vast quantities at a time, 1ill after cinmlaling thl'ough the lungs and stomac•h it. issues in volum~!\ f•·om th~ mouth and nostrils. llut the natur·al vice of all these people is an attachmrnt fot• games ofha7.~'rd whif'h they 1,ursuc with a stt·angcand r·uinous avidity. The games at'C of two kinds. Jn the first, one of the company assumes the office of banker, and Illays against tlto rest. Ilc takes a small stone, auout the size of a bean, which be shifts ft'om one hand to the other with great dcxtel'ity, repeating at the same time a song adapted to the game, and wbich st'll've~ to divert the attention of the company, till having agreul on 1he stake, he holds out his hands, and tho antagoni!lt wins ot· loses as he succeeds OJ' fails at guessing in which hard the stone is. Arter· the hanker has lost his p1oncy, or whenevct· he is tit·cd, the stone is tl·ansfcrrcd (o anothct·, who in turn challenges the rest of the C()tnpany. The othct game is somctbinr; like the I)lay of uinc})ins; t\\o :pins arc Illaced on the Itooa·, about the distance of a foot f1·om ~acb otltct·, and a small hole made behind them. 'The l>lay­ers tlu.m go about ten feet from the l10lc, into which they try to roll a small piece l'CRPmbliug the men used at dt·cwghts; if they succeed in putting it into the hole, they win the stake; if the piece rolls between the I,ins, uut docs not go into tho hole, nothing is won ot• lost; but the wagel' is wholJJ lost if the chcquct' rolls outside of the Ilius. Eutit·c days at·c wasted at these games, which ~u·c often (•ontinucd tlu·ough the night l'Ound the blaze of their fires, till the last at·l ielc of clotl•in~;' ot· even the l~st ldtle bead is won ft•6m the dcspcnlte tulvcn~ turet\ Up tire .lllissoun. 141 In traffic they are keen, acute and intelligent, and they employ in all their b~u·gains a dexterity and finesse, which, if it be not learnt fa•om thch· foreign visitors, may show how nearly the cunning of savages is allied to the little arts ofmot·c civilized- tl'ade. '!'hey begin by asking douhlc ot~ treble the value of their merchandise, and lower the demand in propor­tion to tho ardot· ot· cxpcrinuce in trade of the purchas.cr; and jf ho expresses any anxiety, the smallest article, perhaps a handfulJ of roots, will furnish a whole morning's ncgoc ia.tion. Dciug naturally suspicion ·, they of course conecive that you arc tmr uing the sarm· system. '!'hey, therefore, invaria­bly refuse the first. olfcr, howcvet· high, l'earful that they or we have mistaken the Yalue of the mct·chandisc, and there­fore cautiou ly wait to dt·a.w us un to laq;cr offers. In this way, after rcje(·ting the most extr·avagant pl'ices, which we }m,·e offered merely f'o1· cxpel'irnent, they have afterwat·ds importuned US for a tenth pat•t of what tl1ey had ucfore l'C~ fused. In this respect, they t1iffer f'L·om almost all Indians, who will generally cxdmngc in a thoughtless moment tho most valuable article they rwsscss, for any bauble which hal,JlCns to l,lease their fancy. 'l'hesc habits or cunning, 01' l>l'Ullcncc, have been formed or inct·cascd by thcit• being engaged in a largo part o[ th<.' commerce of nu~ Columbia; of that tra.tlc, however, tho gt·cat emporium is the falls, whct·c all the ncighbout·ing na~ tions asscml>lc. The inhabitants or the Columbian plain8, after IJa,•ing IHLSS('.tl the winter ncar the mountains, rome down as soon as the snow has left tho valleys, and are oc­t• upicd iu collecting and tlr·ying roots, till about the month I){' .1\-Iay. They then ct·owd to the l'ivcr, ami lixing them­selves on Hs north side, to avoid the incur. ions of the Snake Indians, continue fishiug, till about the first of September, wlwn the salmon are no longca' fit fot· usc. 'rhcy then bury theit· fish and retm·n to (he plains, where they t'cmain ga­thering qmunash, till (he snow obliges them to desist. They couw l.,a(~k to the Colun•bia, anc.J taking their store of fi!ah .